A pair of €1m-plus gems

OLD or new, original or retro? Those few fortunate Waterford house hunters being wooed in the €1 million-plus category have quite a few offers to choose from, including these two from local Sherry FitzGerald agent John Rohan.

He’s slashed the price on the original Edwardian gem Mayville, on St John’s Hill and a 0.7 acre site, now asking €1.2m. When he took it on last year it was closer to €1.9m, and two years ago it was priced at €2.2m. So, now with a cool €1m off its earliest hopes, this c 3,000 sq ft five bed home of quite exceptional quality might now be ready to find a wider buying niche, albeit it even more straitened times.

And, while its restored nature will appeal to architectural aficionados, the same narrow buying niche will also be throwing an eye over 32 Castlewood, off the Old Tramore Road at Ballinamona.

This is an even bigger home, at 4,600 sq ft, and it is also a five-bed, and it’s a recent build, never lived in.

One of four similar houses in a wooded cul de sac scheme (despite being numbered 32), it is on about half an acre of gardens, so not too small a site, and the mature-backdrop grounds have been fully finished out, with some extra landscaping, as well as rear terrace and decking.

John Rohan seeks €1.1m for No 32, and even though it hasn’t been lived in, most of the fit-out choices have been made, including flooring finishes — mostly marble and porcelain, with oak upstairs — heating is underfloor, bathrooms are done, the oak kitchen is in situ, and the place really is just ready for stand-alone furniture and soft finishes.

Rooms sizes are large, and the optional fifth bedroom is up at attic level (with Velux), measuring a full 42’ long, and just over 13’ wide. The house has woodgrain pvc windows, and an attached/integrated garage.

That €1.1 m offering contrasts with the re-worked originality of the now-reduced €1.2m Edwardain Mayville, built in 1902 and with original features preserved, and contemporary features, such as plush bathrooms added in.

Located near the Passage Road, on a slender site with possible development scope at the lower end, there’s a main house section, plus east wing, and all five bedrooms have fireplaces, while period fire places also dominate the main reception rooms.

Mayville has high ceilings and period trimmings, with original and reclaimed hardwood floors and tiling, restored sash glazing and shutters: even the brass stair rods recall glory days. The kitchen/family dining space has hefty beams and old rail sleepers, there’s a green Aga and a Mark Williamson-made kitchen with island, plus a double Belfast sink for reinstated authenticity.

Mayville’s landscaped and mature grounds complement its ivy-cloaked walls, and the house has all mains services, gas heating, and alarm and external sensors, electric entrance gates, as well as a detached garage.